Archive for May, 2011

Fly Zone skydiving simulator

/ May 30, 2011 / Photography, Video / 1 Comment

I spent last Friday afternoon doing something I’ve wanted to do forever – skydiving! Well, in this case, it was simulated in a vertical wind tunnel but as you’ll see, it’s pretty close to the real thing:

Miss 604 at the FlyZone

Out in Delta, Fly Zone Body Flight, gives visitors a chance to experience the feeling of free fall skydiving, without having to get onto a plane:
Group ahead of us gettin' air at the @flyz0ne

After a short session in a classroom, Rebecca (Miss 604) and I donned our jumpsuits, goggles and helmets and headed to the wind tunnel which was outside. It’s actually on a flat deck trailer that can be moved to various locations.

Here’s me flying around inside the tunnel on my first run:

Here's @miss604 flying at the @flyz0ne

Here’s Rebecca doing her full first flight:

Watch as the flight instructors strut their stuff after our first lesson:

Fly Zone

One thing I wasn’t expecting was the amount of drool I had blown all over my face from being in the tunnel…I’m pretty sure it was due to the giant smile on my face as the turbine spun below.

Toon Paint for iPhone

/ May 18, 2011 / Mobile, Photography / Comments Off

I stumbled across a very interesting iPhone app today called Toon Paint. It lets you take or process iPhone photos into line drawings and then gives you the ability to paint them.
Toon Paint app

I love the look of the converted images and actually prefer the high contrast black and white output rather than the painted images…possibly because I suck at painting. Seems to work really well with Hipstamatic shots which all these examples are.

Toon Paint app

Toon Paint app

Toon Paint app

Here’s an auto painted version (via the in-app purchase of Toon Color):
Toon Paint app

It’s just available for iPhone but the iPad version is on the way…well worth the $1.99 purchase.

Here’s a few more of my favorite images ‘tooned’ (non-iPhone originals):

Toon Paint

Toon Paint Toon Paint

Toon Paint

I’ll be adding all my Toon Paint images to a set on Flickr.

340 megapixel Gigapan image of Vancouver

/ May 16, 2011 / Photography / 1 Comment

Here’s my third gigapan taken in West Vancouver on May 12, 2011 of downtown Vancouver (fullscreen):

I debuted it during PhotoCamp at Northern Voice this past weekend…everyone in the audience seemed to like it.

Vancouver

I also finally tried out Morten’s suggestion to try out Microsoft’s Zoom.it as well although it does require Silverlight to work but is pretty slick and faster than flash on the gigapan site:

I did have to convert the RAW gigpan to a JPG in order to use it with Zoom.it which did introduce some artifacts.

Interesting to note that the Zoom.it version actually works on the iPhone/iPad…without using Silverlight. Not fully functioning mind you, but it’s better than not working at all.

I love movie special effects

/ May 11, 2011 / Photography, Video / 1 Comment

Last year, I happened upon a strange ‘structure’ that didn’t have any context. I assumed it was part of a movie set but there was no cameras or people or really anything around it:

Some kind of movie stunt set on 1st Ave

It turned out to be the set for Final Destination 5 which was shot in Vancouver last fall. It also turns out that the structure I came across was part of the Lions Gate Bridge set which gets destroyed in the film:

Lions Gate Bridge destruction

Note the yellow/orange truck beside the bent railing and their position in both images.

Here’s the full trailer so you can see the complete bridge destruction:

My latest iPhone 4 case

/ May 10, 2011 / Mobile, Photography / 2 Comments

Likely my last case for the iPhone 4 because it’s awesome and because the iPhone 5 is due out later this year…but I’ve said that before.

HipstaCase

It’s from the folks that make my favourite iPhone camera app, Hipstamatic and made by Agent 18.

It’s really overpriced ($40) for what it is and doesn’t offer much protection but I still love it. It comes with a metal tripod mount and a lanyard that is removable.

I bought it here.